The Daughter of Murderers
by RiddleMeNew
Summary: Hinata and Itachi are married and still hiding from the Leaf Village, Sasuke and Hanabi. This is the story of their daughter, Hitacha, and how life in the as a Leaf Ninja is for her when she's trying to keep her parentage a secret. Different children than the cannon. Revision and hopeful completion of a fic I started at 13. Will follow the same story. Just hopefully better writing.
1. The Daughter of Murderers

**The Daughter of Murderers**

No one could explain what happened or how. How did no one hear the screams? How did Hinata manage to kill so many and so quickly? Why did any of this happen? All anyone was sure of when a seventeen year old Hanabi eventually stumbled into the hospital, looking like a porcelain doll splattered in red and brown paint, was that Hyuuga Hinata was long gone.

The Hokage came first. Tsunade gave condolences and apologies and made promises neither of them believed.

Sakura was her nurse and would check up on her every hour, even when she wasn't on shift.

She got lots of flowers from Kiba and Shino but they never came. So one day, Hanabi asked Ino - who would deliver them - why that was, and it turned out they had gone after Hinata as soon as they had heard.

Tenten and Rock Lee came and cried a lot because yes, Neji was gone too.

Naruto came and sat with her and would speak about things happening in the village and not cover her in tears or drown her in apologies. He'd bring her ramen because 'hospital food is bad and they should feel bad for feeding you that swill'. He would get quiet when she asked about Hinata but would answer best as he could. And one day when Hanabi wondered aloud why he didn't go after her sister as well, he frowned, held her hand and said it was because it would mean leaving her alone.

And after about two weeks, when the hospital had discharged her and Naruto and Sakura were off making sure her stuff made it to her new apartment, Sasuke Uchiha was waiting for her.

The look he had on his face was one Hanabi had grown accustomed to. It was sadness and pity and regret they couldn't help. She had grown tired of that look. Sympathy annoyed her. No one knew what she was going through. How could anyone -

And then Hanabi remembered… He knew exactly what she was going through. He went through it so many years ago.

And suddenly, it all fell away. The wall she had built to not grieve or cry came crashing down. She grabbed at his waist and cried into his chest. And he hugged her tight before lifting her and carrying her to her new home.

* * *

Hinata stared off into the distance. She knew there was someone watching her. A small part of her wondered if they were waiting for the right moment to kill her, wary that she'd put up a fight. They were probably on their utmost guard. After all, she had killed the entirety of her clan.

The thought no longer sent her into the violent vomiting and sobbing fits it once had. After two months of blindly running as far from the Leaf as she could, Hinata was tired. She was tired of running. She was tired of crying. She was tired of trying to figure out what happened.

Technically, she knew. She remembered everything that happened that night. Remembered the blood and the death. The looks of shock and fear and hate on everyone's faces as she _somehow_ killed one after another. She remembered feeling trapped in her own body but knowing that she had to do this. She just couldn't remember _why_.

She was beginning to think she never knew why. She remembered as she approached the room Hanabi locked herself in, that her feeling of certainty in her task turned to doubt. Then to fear as her sister stood before her, wide-eyed and trembling, almost covered in as much blood as Hinata was. Hanabi lunged at her with such a viciousness that Hinata leaped out the window to dodge but then... she just kept running.

She knew if she went back to the Leaf, she would be given just enough time to explain, convey that something was _wrong_ with her. Her friends, her teammates, _Naruto_ would figure out what was wrong. They would figure out what happened. And once they did, all would be well. She could go home and be there for Hanabi. She would be forgiven.

Hinata didn't want to be forgiven.

So she kept running. Through rivers and lakes and tunnels and in trees. Used each and every trick she had ever learned for not getting tracked. It helped that she wasn't going anywhere in particular. Her movements stayed unpredictable. She's sure the only way she lost Shino and Kiba was because they knew her well enough to know where she would usually hide and checked there first.

But she wasn't hiding.

She reminded herself of that as her hairs stood on edge as the person watching her approach. Were they here to capture her or kill her? She didn't know which one she preferred more.

She barely registered the red clouds before a pair of black eyes were staring curiously into her white ones.

* * *

After Itachi heard about what Hinata did, he went looking for her. He found her outside the Rain, looking for all the world like a puppy who had done something wrong but didn't know how to fix it.

He simply walked over to her and looked her in the eyes. She looked empty. Hollow. The look was familiar to him. He'd worn it for years. The only difference was that he had a purpose. Hinata looked like she'd been robbed of hers.

He didn't know why she did what she did but he did know, anyone who did it because they wanted to, wouldn't be looking like that.

He just stared just looked her in the eyes. She stared back with eyes that didn't seem to know... anything. They stayed like that for some time and when he was finally ready to leave, he turned and walked away. She followed.

They never did figure out what happened that night. They tried every resource Itachi had. Nothing. It never happened again and that scared Hinata more than if it had. She no longer slept at night. The paranoia of it happening again, losing control so completely, would keep her up - eyes locked on the moon - till sunrise. He stayed with her, watched her, promised to keep her safe.

Eventually, after a few years of each other's companionship, they fell in love. Traded headbands - now both bearing scratches - an accepted and honored symbol of marriage among Shinobi, who so rarely had the luxury of time for a ceremony.

Itachi walked over to Hinata and the small child in her arms. Her name was Hitacha, a combination of their names Hinata had thought of. At first, Itachi wasn't too sure about the name but he hadn't any better suggestions. He never expected to have children. Hinata's entire pregnancy was surreal to him - a dream he was convinced he'd awake from till he first heard his daughter's voice. In time, the name had grown on him. Hitacha. It suited her. She had half of them both already, why not half their names too?

The toddler looked up at him with her strange eyes, one white, one black, and smiled at him. "Dada." She cooed with a surety that Itachi was sure no child that small was supposed to have. He eyes softened as Hinata looked up and smiled at him too.

"No more worrying about whether or not Hitacha will inherit your brains. She already knows who her dad is." She told him.

"Was there any ever doubt?" He asked.

"No,"His wife giggled, "But that didn't stop you from worrying anyway."

 **Chapter End**


	2. The One Where An Odd Request Is Recieved

**The One Where a Strange Request is Received**

Naruto gazed out his window from the Hokage office as he waited. He had paperwork he should be doing - so much paperwork - but it could wait a few minutes. Apparently, a little girl had requested an audience with him, which actually happened more often than you'd think. Usually, when children came to see him, his guards would explain that Hokage-sama was very busy, receive the little gifts or letters on his behalf and whenever Naruto found free time, he would send them a note with some sweet or trinket in thanks. He had gained quite a few pen pals this way and it was a good day when Naruto was able to respond right away.

This time, however, Naruto understood something was different. He knew when his guard entered his office just moments after he received a note from customs about an odd traveler. He knew it from the confused look on his guard's face - the suspicion in their eyes - when they informed him of the request. Confusion and suspicion filled his own thoughts when they conveyed that she was a foreigner.

"Where are her parents?" he had asked on pure reflex.

"She says she came alone."

Naruto looked down at the note in hands. _'Young girl. Few clothes. A Large sum of money. Weapons handed over with no fuss. Full body check came back clean. Alone.'_

Naruto mulled it over. "Bring her up in 15 minutes." He said as he reached for the rarely used phone on his desk. It was one of the few instances where it would help things move faster.

He looked away from the window as office door opened and a young girl wearing shades around his oldest son's age walked in. Her hair was medium length and worn in a high ponytail with a large bang covering half her face. She wore a dark gray hoody, black shorts and a white camisole over a mesh shirt.

'Ninja garb.' Naruto thought idly standing as she bowed in greeting.

"My name is Adachi Hitacha. Thank you for seeing me, Hokage-sama." There was a nervous edge to her tone, one Naruto was accustomed to in new genin when he met them.

"A pleasure to meet you, Hitacha-chan." He greeted her smiling. For a moment, though it was almost too hard to tell because of the hair and shades, her expression wavered. The familiarity of the way he addressed her caught her off guard. It was a tactic Naruto had used many times as Hokage to leverage conversation. He walked around to the front of his desk and sat on the edge of it. "So what business do we have to discuss today?"

She hesitated before answering him. "I... I would like to become a ninja of your village, sir."

"Oh? And why is that Hitacha-chan?" Naruto tilted his head to the side as he considered her. She insisted on maintaining formalities - something that normally only happened if the person considered themselves of higher standing than him or if they just found the rules of etiquette to be comfortable. From the dusting of pink on her cheeks and way she fumbled to open her bag, Naruto could tell it was the latter. He felt a little bad as she approached him to hand him the letter in her hands. She bowed as she presented it and once he took it, she immediately went back to where she was standing before. His smile turned a touch more genuine as he imagined his wife cooing over how well mannered she was.

Turning his attention to the letter, his expression sobered up.

Dear Hokage-sama,

We ask your patience and understanding in this request. Our family is among the few who survived and remained in the Sound after our Kage's death. We do not have the means to move and start over nor do we wish to. It is our honor to help rebuild our village, ideally as one of trade. But there are people in our village who have different motives. They seek to become a ninja village once more and every child who shows any ability to manipulate chakra is forced to train. The most promising of these children are often sent off as spies to other countries, to send back as much information as they can to help the Sound grow further, in secret. We should be proud that our child is so gifted but we know the grim fate that awaits spies. So in hopes that she can use her talents and be as safe in that path as she can be, we ask that you please let her join your village. We cannot offer anything in return - all that we can spare we have given her so she could cover the cost of travel and living - but we hope and we trust that you will not turn her away.

"Ah." Naruto muttered to himself. It wasn't entirely uncommon for children of non-ninja villages to go to the nearest Ninja Village if they wished to become a ninja but in the last few years, more of these children were found to actually be spies from the Sound. There was nothing they could do outside of dealing with the spies since officially the Sound had no Kage. This was one of the few times Naruto had heard of one of these children being upfront about where they were from. He scanned through the letter a few more times before letting another smile breeze across his face. "No names?"

"No, sir. It would be bad if word got out that they supported me. Please pardon my caution, Hokage-sama." Naruto could see the slight frown on her face and could tell he was coming off as rude. He let the smile fall in a heavy sigh. He couldn't keep leveraging her with the casual tone if she thought he was doing it to mock her.

"And if you get registered as a leaf nin, wouldn't that be bad for them too?" He asked as he stood straight, hands clasped behind his back.

The change in his demeanor caused her to hesitate before answering. "I don't believe so, sir. I've been talking about running away for a while now. No one will be surprised that I disappeared just before final exams." She began to chew her lip. Naruto felt a small pang in his chest but suppressed it. He had a job to do.

"So you were trained as a Ninja by the Sound?"

"Yes, sir."

" I take it then that you want to take partake in the genin exams tomorrow?"

"I made it in time?!" She exclaimed so suddenly that Naruto almost jumped. He couldn't prevent the soft smile that broke out as the eye he could see peered over her shades at him.

"Just barely. But I'm not sure I should let you sit it." he said as he walked back around to take a seat. She looked at him stunned so he continued. "We are aware of the spies the Sound has been sending. We've caught them every time. Why should I take such a risk as to let one freely join the leaf?"

The shades and bang were making her harder to read but Naruto felt that she was just one of those hard to read people. From the way her body tensed while he was talking and fell loose before he finished, he could tell she was the kind of person who schooled her emotions regularly. Naruto waited a moment but after two minutes had passed and she remained silent still, he spoke.

"Why here, Hitacha-chan? You must understand how hard this will be for you. People will be suspicious of you constantly, you-"

"I don't care. I-" She interrupted him then hesitated. He motioned for her to continue so she did. "I just want to try, Hokage-sama. I don't mind it being hard work. I don't need everyone to like me. I know there are different villages I could have gone to that would have been more willing to take me on. I know that the history between the Leaf and the Sound makes this so much harder but I traveled all this way to be a Leaf Ninja. I can't... I can't leave without trying to make it work." She fell silent for a second before bowing again. "Please, Hokage-sama! I know it's a lot for me to ask but please! Let me sit the exam. Let me have a chance to be a Leaf Ninja!"

Naruto stayed silent. He let his eyes flit to a corner of the room and back as a smile broke out across his face. He quietly gathered some papers from one part of the office and approached her.

"Hitacha-chan." he called to her gently, as she was still bowing. She looked up at him and he smiled brighter as he handed her the paperwork. "Fill these out, as best as you can, and bring them with you to this address tomorrow. Do your best tomorrow, okay?"

Hitacha stared at him dumbstruck and then, for the first time since he met her, she smiled. "...Really?" she asked breathlessly.

"Really." he assured her.

"Thank you! Thank you Hokage-sama! I promise I will do everything I can to make sure you don't regret this!"

"Good. Because you will be closely monitored. If your loyalties lie elsewhere, you'll be... handled. I'm offering you this chance because I think you're sincere. I know others won't agree but we just have to prove them wrong, won't we?"

"Yes, sir." She had managed to get her composure back but was still positively beaming. Naruto's smile widened.

"Do you need help finding a place to stay?"

"No sir." she assured him in a firm tone. "I have enough for a room at an inn and I know there are apartments offered exclusively to new ninja. I can afford a month of that before my pay kicks in."

"Confident are we?" He asked, raising an eyebrow, still smiling.

She smiled shyly at him, though she didn't seem embarrassed. "All due respect, I wouldn't be here if I wasn't, sir."

"See you Hitacha-chan."

"Farewell Hokage-sama." she said with a bow.

Once she had left, Naruto waited till her footsteps were gone to turn back towards his desk. Once he sat, he waited a while longer before letting his smile fall.

"Alright. Let me have it."

"Are you out of your mind?" Sasuke hissed as he emerged from the dark corner he was hiding in.

"Does she really strike you as a spy from the Sound, Sasuke?" Naruto asked, rocking back in his chair.

"Good spies never do." he spat back, irritable.

"Not what I asked." The blonde said as he placed his hands behind his head. Sasuke paused for a moment before answering.

"No. She doesn't really strike me as a Sound nin but that could mean anything. It could mean she's lying about being from the Sound and is a spy from elsewhere. It could mean that after twelve years the Sound has finally figured out a better way to train their ninja or -"

"Or" Naruto mused aloud, "That she's actually just a kid who wants nothing more than to be a leaf ninja." Sasuke made a noise of disbelief and Naruto only shrugged. "As long as that last one has the potential of being true, we won't be taking any drastic measures."

"Tch. Yeah ok. Do you want me to refrain from informing the heads of the clans about this, Lord Optimistic?" Sasuke asked with a dangerous glint in his eye. Naruto sighed.

"Optimistic, not stupid. Make sure they all find out within the hour. And have Sakura compile me a list of all the off mission ANBU." he replied, watching his friend's demeanor relax.

"I'll make sure she has it ready for you before the baby shower later." Sasuke assured him as he got ready to leave. At the mention of the baby shower, Naruto perked up.

"Oi! Sasuke?"

"If I see Hanabi before you do, tell her that you love her. I know." Sasuke huffed with a small frown but Naruto knew he was just teasing. "It's almost as if you don't see her every damn day."

"If I saw her every second of the day, it wouldn't be enough." Naruto said dreamily.

"I'm leaving."

The blonde laughed as his friend disappeared in a cloud of smoke. He sat up in his chair and half-heartedly resumed his paperwork. Once he was done with this, he could head over to his home and help his sons decorate for the baby shower. As he shuffled some papers around trying to remember what was the most immediate thing that needed to be addressed, the letter Hitacha gave him ended up in his hands again. He hesitated for a moment before pulling out a blank folder and placing it inside. After scrawling _'Adachi Hitacha'_ on the tab of the folder, he placed it in his top drawer. He really did hope it was for nothing but until they knew for sure, he had a job to do.


	3. The One Where Teams Are Made

**The One Where Teams Are Made**

Naruto practically bounced into his office. He was still riding the high of the baby shower a few days before. Hanabi had insisted on keeping the gender of her most recent pregnancy a secret until the shower and so he expected that it was because their three sons were going to have a little sister but he didn't expect two! Twin girls! He could still hardly believe it.

"Good morning, Hokage-sama." He was greeted politely by the figure waiting in his office.

"Good morning Shino!" Naruto responded. "Thanks again for coming to the baby shower. Hanabi has me writing the Thank you notes so expect something in the mail soon, okay?"

"I'll be sure to tell Tenten to keep an eye out," Shino responded in his normal monotone as he presented the blonde with one of the folders he was holding. "The results of the first part of the genin exams."

Naruto accepted the folder and was browsing through it before he had even taken a seat. His eyes jumped all over the pages looking for the names he knew. Shino's daughter passed. As did the Akimichi twins. Good. There was Konohamaru's son, Lee's daughter, Kiba and Ino's son... ah! Towards the top of the page, there was his son, Hikaru, he noted with pride. And just above him, there was Sasuke's son, Kichiro, and impossibly higher still was...

"I see you've spotted Adachi-san." Shino commented as Naruto's eyebrows shot up.

"She topped the class?!"

"No. Kichiro topped the class. To compare the rest of the class to her would do them a disservice. Don't misunderstand," Shino started to explain as Naruto's eyebrows crept higher into his hairline. "She's nowhere near Chunin level but her comprehension of the theory and execution of Jutsu comes from an understanding you can't teach in a classroom. If I didn't know better, I'd say you sent an active genin to resit the test."

"You think she was an active ninja?"

"Or that her instructors were insane. Perhaps clinically." he lifted another folder from his pile and placed it on the desk. "My suggestions for Team assignments. Normally, I wouldn't ask your advice but given the circumstances, I figured you wanted a word."

Naruto nodded as he reached for the other folder. Even in a perfect world, where Hitacha was hiding absolutely nothing from them, her competency was worrying. Since when could the Sound produce exceptional genin? Since when could they produce _competent_ ones? He began to tap the desk with his nails as he went through the Team assignments. He should have her questioned. But that would be pointless because there would be no way of guaranteeing she spoke the truth without handing her over to Sasuke's unit. And if there was even a sliver of a chance that she was just an innocent girl, he couldn't hand her over to be tortured. He wouldn't.

His tapping stilled as he reached the team Hitacha was assigned to.

"Why?" He asked a little in shock.

"Going off of just the exam? They're the only ones able to keep up with each other. To be honest I was a little lost on who to put with those two till I saw her scores. If you don't like it, I have several different possible assignments." Shino said, already flipping through one of his other folders.

"No. It's fine." Naruto said snapping the folder shut. It would make it easier to keep an eye on her but... wow, was he gonna hear about this later. Shaking the thought out his head he picked up a different folder and a small scroll and handed the pile to Shino. "I do have a different suggestion for their Sensei though."

Shino opened the new folder and lifted an eyebrow. "And by suggestion you mean?"

"Make it clear he can't refuse." Naruto clarified with a sigh. He tossed a glance to the clock on his desk and grimaced. "I'd call him to my office and do it myself but that would take up too much time."

Shino nodded and bowed as he left. Naruto groaned as he rested his head in his hands. He eyed the phone warily as he weighed the pros and cons of doing this now and over the phone or later and in person.

'Best to get it over with.'

* * *

Kichiro rolled his eyes as the new girl entered and the classroom went from loud excited shouts to poorly concealed whispers. He understood why everyone was in a tizzy yesterday when she walked in but surely the novelty was gone? Yeah sure, some mysterious girl coming just in time to sit the exams to be a Leaf ninja without enrolling in the academy was pretty scandalous but most of their class were children of ninja families which meant they should already know what's up. She was supposedly a refugee from the Sound. She would most likely pass, most likely turn out to be a spy and most likely get pulled up on the weirdest treason charges ever. If she wasn't a spy then she would most likely fade into obscurity. Whatever.

He turned his attention back to the trap set he'd been reorganizing when his cousin, Hikaru, jabbed him in the side. He raised an eyebrow.

"Move over." Hikaru hissed at him.

"Why?" Kichiro asked out loud a little confused. Hikaru had more than enough space. His cousin rolled his eyes at him and gave an exasperated sigh.

"So she can sit?"

He frowned. "We never share. She can find a different seat."

Hikaru crossed his arms and leveled him with a look. "Oh really? Where?"

Kichiro tossed a glance around the room before realizing his cousin was right. Their bench was the only one with the extra space. He looked down at his trap set which was scattered all over the desk in front of him and his frowned deepened.

"You move over. I'm busy." he said gesturing to the mess in front of him.

"But..." Hikaru pouted as he looked over at the blonde across the small aisle from him, who was engrossed in her own whispered conversation. "It's my last day sitting next to Tora..."

Kichiro closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "Then she can sit in the middle, you idiot."

He didn't have to look at his cousin to know the way he lit up at the revelation. He rolled his eyes once more as Hikaru stood and his voice filled the room.

"Hey! You can sit over here!"

The room went silent. The girl seemed to freeze for a moment under the attention before taking measured steps towards them. Kichiro raised an eyebrow at the way she moved. Like every step might trigger a trap. He wondered if she was always that cautious or if she was just nervous from all the attention.

Hikaru moved to the side and she slipped into the free space. She gave them both a tight nod in greeting and folded her hands on the desk in front of her, not reacting as the whispers picked up again.

"What was your name again?" Hikaru asked, causing Kichiro to shoot him a look before turning back to his trap set. They both knew what her name was. Everyone knew what her name was.

"Adachi Hitacha." she answered in a clipped tone that Kichiro was familiar with as a conversation ender.

"I'm Uzumaki Hikaru!" His cousin continued, not catching the hint. "And that other guy is my cousin, Uchiha Kichiro."

Kichiro just barely caught the way her grip tightened. "Cousins?" she asked looking between the two of them briefly. "You don't look related."

"Oh, we aren't." Hikaru chirped, pleased to see her engaging in the conversation but Kichiro wasn't exactly sure she was trying to be friendly. "Our families are just super close. Dad was on the same team as Kichiro's parents and Mom and Uncle Sasuke might as well be siblings."

"Ah." she replied softly, her grip tightening again except this time the force of it made her knuckles go white. Kichiro frowned and he started to place the sorted pieces back into the kit. Did that _scare_ her?

Hitacha was regretting quite a few life choices. Being born, for starters. Leaving home. Waking up this morning. Oh, and sitting here. That was the worst decision. She should have just stood. She was actually very content to stand. But when the white-eyed boy that she knew to be her cousin offered her a seat next to him, she couldn't think of a polite way to say no - especially not with so many people focused on her. So she sat down and tried not to freak out too much that she was sitting next to freaking Hikaru Uzumaki. It was fine. She would keep quiet and be as unremarkable as possible and get assigned to a team and most likely never talk to him again ever. Everything was _fine_.

"And that other guy is my cousin, Uchiha Kichiro."

She almost died. Of course he was. Of course. And of course, both Sasuke and Hanabi were so close, their children considered themselves cousins.

Of. Course.

As Hikaru continued to prattle on and she tried every trick she knew to end a conversation and watched it fail, she took a closer look at the boys she was trapped sitting in between. Hikaru had dark brown hair that rested over one shoulder in a loose braid and there were whisker like markings like his father's on his cheeks. His eyes, she realized, weren't white but an exceptionally pale shade of blue. He wore a pastel blue jacket over a pastel orange top; his shorts matched his jacket though there were some accents that matched his shirt.

Kichiro, who Hitacha was grateful to see was ignoring her in favor of the trap kit he was reorganizing, also had long hair, though his was a hard black like his eyes and in a simple ponytail. He wore a black hoodie over a burgundy shirt and khaki shorts. She noticed, with a barely suppressed start, that he kept tossing glances at her tightly clenched hands. She slowly relaxed them, though that only seemed to make him frown deeper. She moved her hands to her pockets. He went back to his trap kit.

"Oh and I'll bet you'll love the hot springs we have!"

"Mmm."

"Just ignore him." Kichiro spoke up for the first time since she sat down. "Nothing you do will make him shut up. So ignore him."

Before Hitacha could react Hikaru practically leaned over her to get in Kichiro's face. "Now that's just rude! Here I am trying to have some _nice_ and _friendly_ conversation to calm her nerves before the results get announced and you have to go and -"

"Nice a friendly? To the girl from the Sound? That most everyone thinks is a spy and who - by the way - is currently squished between the son of the Head Interrogator and the son of the _Hokage_. And you think talking to either of us is doing anything _good_ for her nerves?"

Hikaru froze at the question and hastily leaned back into his seat. He hadn't thought about that. He really was just trying to be nice but as he turned to Hitacha, it was clear from her stiff form and tight lips that he was only making her uncomfortable. "Sorry." He squeaked and then the three of them sat in silence surrounded by the noise of the rustling of Kichiro's trap kit, the tapping of Hikaru's fingers and the steadily increasing whispers all around them.

 _"Told you she's from the Sound!"_

 _"Hikaru is too sweet. Good of Kichiro to stop him from talking to her though."_

 _"Ugh. Can you imagine being on her team?"_

 _"No! Insta-fail for sure! There's no way the Hokage is actually going to let her be a leaf nin!"_

The last one had come from just behind him and all three of them had heard it very clearly. Hikaru noticed the way Hitacha's jaw had clenched and the way she shrinked into her seat and his blood began to boil.

Hikaru stood very suddenly in a way that made the desk in front them almost tumble over. He turned to shoot an apology to Kichiro but found that apparently his cousin had anticipated his outburst as all of his trappings had been moved from the desk into his lap. With a feeling of relief washing over him as his cousin's silent support - Kichiro showed his approval in the weirdest ways - Hikaru turned to face the person.

He recognized her vaguely. She was one of the few people he'd gone to school with but never really spoke to and now he was beginning to see why.

"Sorry? What was that?" Even when he tried to speak softly Hikaru's voice had a way of filling a room. As if no matter what he did he was shouting. His mother said it was something he inherited from his father.

The girl paled considerably under his gaze. She stumbled around her words but eventually she managed to get something coherent out.

"I - I was just- there's no way Hokage-sama is - is gonna let a spy be a-a leaf nin."

"Oh?" Hikaru said folding his arms and cocking his head to the side. "You think _my_ _father_ would let someone he thought was a spy set foot in this village? Walk around? Sit this test? You think he'd take that risk if actually believed she was any threat at all? What a wonderful opinion you seem to hold of our Hokage... Mizu, was it?" He didn't wait for her to respond as he started again, shifting his hand to rest on his hips, fully aware of the intimidating figure he was presenting. He learned it from his mom. "I'll be sure to keep that in mind. Does anyone _else_ have something they'd like to say?"

Met with silence, he took his seat and rested his chin on his hand, a bit upset at the way the silence lingered. He didn't like pulling the 'Son of the Hokage' card but it had its uses. He knew his friends didn't care but a lot of the village revered him and the rest of his family in a way that left him uneasy. His parents made sure he and his siblings didn't feel entitled to it, that they 'didn't abuse their privilege.' but Hikaru sympathized with the look on his father's face when it came up. It was just weird.

Shino almost turned around and left when he entered the eerily quiet classroom, convinced he'd somehow found the wrong room. This group of silent children couldn't possibly be the same ones he had been teaching these past few years. But there was his daughter, sitting two rows up and in the middle of the classroom was Kichiro, Hikaru and...

A small smile crept onto Shino's face as he surveyed the room, finding humor in the irony that the same situation that had happened during his graduation had repeated itself.

"Hello everyone. It's time for the teams to be made."


End file.
